45149 Restoration: 2008
 

Monday 4th August 2008 was a significant date in the history of the restoration of ‘Peak’ Class 45, 45149, at the GWR, Toddington. Following approximately two years of work, the engine and generator set was carefully re-united with the locomotive for the first time in many years. 45149 arrived at Toddington in 1997 whilst the Sulzer engine arrived separately (to keep the weight down on the road transport).

While the engine was known to be operational (the loco having been withdrawn from BR service due to a traction motor defect) the opportunity was taken to give the engine a complete overhaul as it was easy to work on outside the loco. The cylinder heads and rockers have been overhauled, the liners and pistons removed and changed where required (10 of the 12 liners being replaced with those from scrap 47s), the water jacket de-scaled, all seals renewed and the oil sump drained and cleaned (removing the several nuts and bolts found in the process!). The generator has also been mega-tested and has been found to be ok.

Using the Departmental lifting beam, the 32-tonne engine was carefully lowered into the engine room of 45149 on the Monday and after a few minor adjustments had been made, the reuniting was successful - well done to all concerned. Since the engine was re-united, the connections at the free-end of the engine have been re-connected but the electrical connections to the control cubicle remain to be reattached. Finally all 12 fuel injectors are being sent away to Eastleigh Works for testing following overhaul.

Other work that has been undertaken in the last few months includes recovering several spare parts out of the spare Class 45 cab (ex-45128), including a traction motor blower and an air compressor. These items have been stripped down, cleaned and are currently in the process of being re-built for use either in 45149, or for spares.

More recently a start has been made on the bodywork repair. Large areas of the rusting bodyside have been cut away and it is understood that a contractor will be employed to fit the replacement steel. On the No.2 end the nose section has been removed for cleaning up and eventual re-skinning. A similar effort has also been made with the roof section which was removed a few weeks ago. The hinges were freed and it now sports a coat of primer.

In addition the loco bogies are now resplendent in gloss black after many hours of needle-gunning - much to the relief of the 2807 lads who suffered many a Sunday at the mercy of 2 needle guns hard at work!

The engine instrument panel, which is located on top of the brake frame, has received repairs to its holding bracket, having been repaired at the local Aerospace company and painted into aircraft grey(!).

Finally a replacement set of batteries has been sourced for the locomotive and these were used to power the main air compressor for a number of hours, pressurising the air tanks, in an effort to discharge the batteries to allow a full recharge to take place.

Since the last issue of CMDG News, progress on the Peak has continued apace. As mentioned in the last newsletter, the Number 2 end nose end has been removed and is awaiting re-plating work by a specialist contractor (due to the curves involved). With the nose end removed - the last part of 45149 untouched since 1984 - access to the traction motor blower and all the cabling was made a lot easier. The blower has been removed and stripped, tested (requiring a new bearing) and will soon be re-built ready for re-fitting. Some welding in the blower ducting needed welding which has been undertaken by a colleague from the Growler Group. Also located in the nose end is a compressor which has been removed. The compressor recovered from 45128’s cab has been overhauled and will be fitted to 45149.

Also at the number 2 end, the drivers instrument panel was removed (we had seen the one on 45060 and had noticed how the lamp holders had corroded so the thought it to do preventative maintenance before we have the same problems). The instrument panel went off-site for repairs and re-painting along with the instrument pipes, brake valve pipes and the Davies & Metcalfe brake valves. All have now returned and are awaiting re-fitting whilst any broken electrical conduit is in the process of being replaced.

Since the power unit was re-united with the loco in August, no further work has been undertaken on the engine whilst efforts are concentrated elsewhere on the loco. The power unit however has been sheeted over to protect it from dust which could cause damage if it found its way into the unit. However, one of the exhaust bellows which is damaged (see picture, left) is going to be taken to a specialist for repairs. In-house repairs have been considered but due to the nature of its construction it is thought best to be done by professionals.

With the possibility of the loco having to come out of the DP shed in the new year, a start has been made on the bodywork repairs. All areas of rusting metal were cut out and new steel measured up to fit. On the Tewkesbury side of the loco, a problematic area below the radiator was the first to be cut and replaced as was another area on the same side but near the electrical cubicle.

It was a slightly different story on the east side of the loco (the bodyside nearest Toddington goods shed) though - a more challenging section around the electrical cubicle and the ex urinal area required to be done as well as a larger area of the plain bodyside required replacement - requiring the removal of the bodyside grilles. However this didn’t seem to be too much of a problem for the people who undertook the task though.

As mentioned in the last newsletter, work is continuing on the roof section. In the last few weeks it has been needle-gunned and primed. The hinge areas, which were causing a major problem (as they were rusted up and bent due to poor maintenance on BR) were straightened up and the rusting channel between the doors is in the process of being cleaned out ready for a new plate to be welded in. The aluminium roof doors which open are complete but do require a small amount of riveting.

Back on the loco, the cab windows at the number 2 end are back in place and have been masked up to protect them from any damage. The rain strip at the same end has also been re-attached whilst another member has ‘won’ some Class 45 horns off eBay! Now we just require a proper set for the other end of the locomotive!

The roof section which was the main focus of activity in the last magazine has now been welded by and now has a coat of green etch primer applied to protect it. The opening doors to go on the roof will need longer rivets before we can put it back together. The overhaul of the auxiliary motors from the nose end has also continued. A group-made extractor tool was used to remove the flange on the armature shaft of the traction motor blower in order that the bearing could be inspected and the opportunity taken to clean out the grease pipe. The compressor has also been re-assembled with overhauled parts was bench tested, working perfectly and is now ready for re-fitting.

Later in the month, the engine room doors were riveted back together (they are constructed of a steel frame with an aluminium sheet covering). This also involved some drilling and de-burring of some of the holes. Some etch priming of the door panels followed with Sikaflex used between surfaces. The aluminium edging being prepared for riveting involved the removal of corrosion. The doors are nearly ready to be put back on the roof section once the hinges are sorted.

On the actual loco itself, any exposed steel was treated to a coat of etch primer.